New Zealand Based student wins slot in Face of Zimbabwe Pageant

by Mike Tashaya

10 Oct 2011 at 18:38hrs | Views

Ashley Magumise, a 19 year old student based in Hamilton, New Zealand has won a fiercely contested round to become Miss September in the ongoing Face of Zimbabwe competition. The young beauty becomes one of the 12 finalists who will battle it out in December to earn the bragging rights to become the most beautiful face in Zimbabwe, based on public votes.

There are few pageants that have established themselves as competitive, relevant, exciting and filled with captivating twists as this popular international pageant. Faced with fiercely competing beauty, the panel of judges failed to reach consensus on the winner from the three September finalists. Besides Ashley, the other finalists included UK based beauties Emily Marambakuyana and Tinashe Kamangira. The results were declared deadlocked and according to the competition rules, the judges lost their right to choose the winner and the contestant with the highest public votes becomes the winner.

Ashley's win after attaining the highest public support indicated the teenage beauty's popular appeal. One of the judges, UK beauty model, Caroline Kumbukani said "Ashley showed a great personality, natural beauty and looked confident with herself which is what we look for". Another judge, Ireland based radio presenter, Priscilla Nalana also commented on the teenager's beauty and stunning natural look as the epitome of a real Zimbabwean woman.

The results of the September winner were broadcast live to thousands of listeners in a nail biting, suspense filled show by radio host Eve Parkes on her popular Saturday radio show on Zimonline Radio. The radio station is riding high after it was recently nominated for a BEFFTA Award due to its commitment to serving the Zimbabwean community in the Diaspora.

The Face of Zimbabwe completion is an online beauty pageant which selects a finalist every month from Zimbabweans all over the world. The competition has seen finalists from Zimbabweans based in South Africa, USA, UK, Canada, China, New Zealand and Zimbabwe highlighting its international character. All the finalists are expected to become Zimbabwean tourist ambassadors and lift the country's flag high where they are based. With a reported 4000 votes cast each month, some of the contestants seem to be attracting more voters than some parliamentary candidates.

The Face of Zimbabwe finalists are currently fundraising for 24 Epworth orphans in a charity drive called 'My Brother's Keeper' which is seeking to raise long-term funding for underprivileged Zimbabwean children. Previous monthly winners such as UK based beauty Ohleen Munyanyi have kicked off their fundraising by selling customised wrist bands at her school and approaching possible donors. Another monthly winner, Sibo Bero, a stunning brainy beauty who is studying medicine in China is set to host a fashion event at her University to kick-start her fundraise and raise awareness of the country.

The competition seems to be succeeding in capturing the imagination of Zimbabweans all over the world showcasing the country's many beautiful faces whilst drawing attention to Tourist destinations and children in need of support. The competition is set to reach its finale in December when the winner will be announced.